Air washing and cleaning apparatus



um, E957' R LHQTA 229796,34@ Y AIR WASHING AND CLEANING APPARATUS Filed sepia., l2's 1955 I yf United States Patent O l 2,796,241 AIR WASHING ANDCLEANING APPARATUS Robert A. Lhota, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Schmieg Industries, Inc.acorporation of` Michigan Application September 121955Serial`No. 533,869

2 Claims. (.Cl 251-24)V The present` inventiorrrelates to improvementsy in air conditioning, and particularly to improvements in industriali washing of contaminated` air.

Heretofore, as` iuLliota.` Eatent No; 2,527,015, devices havebeen providedfor air'washing'and-cleaningin which a vertical casings is employed; and: within` which an impeller is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. The impeller projectswithin-'a-liquidf-batlrandg as itfis rotated, it picks up the-liquid.l and throws it out in a horizontal direction. The contaminated air to bel cleanedisdrawn into the casing upwardly through the horizontall curtain of liquidlwhere itis washedand'cleaned. The cleaned airis then withdrawn anddisclarged through thetop Aof the casing. y

According to the present' invention, the impeller is mounted for rotation about a vertically disposed shaft, and such shaft is supported by antifriction bearing assemblies. It will be appreciated that, as the air is withdrawn upwardly through the housing, it carries with it a substantial amount of moisture which might collect on the bearings, and considerably reduces the lives thereof. According to the present invention, a housing is provided which encloses the vertical shaft and the bearings, and within which a pressure is maintained about the pressure within the cleaning chamber, so that the moistened air cannot enter this housing and contaminate the bearing assemblies. Thus the life of the unit is considerably enhanced.

One of the primary objects ofthe present invention is to provide improvements in air washers and cleaners of the type mentioned in which the bearings supporting the drive shaft associated with the impeller lare protected against moisture contamination, and thus the life of the apparatus is considerably increased.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, the drawing relating thereto and from the claims hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing in which like numerals are used to designate like parts in the several views throughout:

Figure l is `a side elevational view of an air washing and cleaning apparatus embodying features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a reduced cross-sectional view taken substan- 'tially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, an illustrated form of the present invention is shown which comprises a vertical casing generally indicated at 1 and which, generally speaking, is cylindrical in form. Such casing 1 comprises an upper cylindrical portion 2 which projects downwardly within a generally cylindrical base portion 3.

An integral air inlet conduit casing 4 is disposed adjacent the top of the lower portion 3, and in embracing and spaced relation to the downwardly projecting lower end of the cylindrical casing 2 to form an air inlet passageway around the lower end of the casing 2 and above 2,796,241 Patented June 18, 1957Y the upper end of the lower casing 3. Such passage is indicated at 5, so that incoming air lsurrounds the lower end ofthe casing and' ent-ers the chamber formed by the lower casing 3 in the direction of the arrows.

r[The lower casing 3 is adapted to contain a bath of cleaning uid such as water` or a combination of' wat'er and other cleaning agent, as indicatedv at 6, the upper level of such bathbeing properly controlled. A suitable cleaning outlet may be providedY in ther usual way.

The upper end'of the casing` 2f is enclosedV by acover 7 having a central outlet opening` 8` therein.

A centrifugal fan assembly generally indicated'.l at 9 is mounted on the topcover 7, and such assembly includes a housing 10' provided with an outlet 11, withinf which an impeller 12 is rotatably mounted; Such irn'- peller 12 is mounted upon a drive shaft 13, which is-driven.

by a belt and pulley assembly 14 by meansof an electric motor 15. The inlet of the fan assembly is located. over they outlet 8,' -so that' air' from within the casing is' drawn` through the outlet 8- into the inlet of the impeller andi` dischargedthrough the outlet 11. creates a subatmospheric pressure within the chamber 1, and draws the dirt laden bath through the inlet pas sageway 5 and under the lower edge- 16 of ther downwardly projecting casing 2'.

A rotating impeller, generally indicatedv at 17, is dis posed-within the casing and maybe of the form shown in the Lhota patent. Such impeller is generally cone shaped and has a' series of spirallyV arranged blades or vanes 18 formed on the peripheral surface thereof. The upper end of the cone-shaped propeller has a circular cover plate or disk member 19 mounted thereon for rotation therewith, and preferably such plate has a flanged periphery which extends slightly beyond the surface of the cone-shaped impeller.

A vertically disposed drive shaft 20 is fixed to the impeller 17 and is mounted within ball bearing antifriction assemblies 21 and 22, each of which may be of known constructions. Such ball bearing assemblies are mounted within ared portions of a housing generally indicated at 23. Such housing 23 includes a vertical tubular portion 24 having the outwardly flared conical portions 25 and 26 at opposite ends. The bearing assembly 22 is supported within the ared portion 26, and the bearing assembly is supported within the flared portion 25.

The flared portion 25 has a laterally extending housing 27 which engages drive pulleys 28 and 29 and drive belt 3i). The pulley 28 is keyed to drive shaftb20, and pulley 29 is keyed to the armature of a motor 30 which is mounted to the housing 1 by a suitable bracket 31. The housing 27 projects outwardly through the casing 2, and has .an opening 32 to the atmosphere.

The flared portion 26 terminates adjacent its lower end in slightly spaced relation to the top or cover 19 of the impeller 17.

The housing 23 encloses the drive shaft and the bearing assemblies 21 and 22. As the impeller 17 is rotated at a high rate of speed, it picks water out of the bath and throws it laterally as indicated. Also, the cover plate 19 creates a fan effect, so that atmospheric air is drawn in 'through opening 32 `and through the housing where it is ejected from the lower end of the ilared portion 26 above the cover plate 19, as indicated by arrows 33. As the housing is open at both ends and a subatmospheric pressure is created within the casing 1 by the fan 9, pressure within the housing 23 is higher than the pressure within the chamber 1, so that the moist air cannot enter housing 23 and contaminate bearings 21 and 22. An air seal is effectively created in the area adjacent the top of the cover plate 19 land the ared Operation of the fanportion 26 of the housing 23 to prevent ingress of such moist air.

The housing 23 is suitably supported within the casing by means of radially projecting beams or bars 34 which have their inner ends suitably lixed to the housing 23, and have their outer ends suitably fixed to the interior of the casing 1, such, for example, as by bolting or welding.

`- VThe usual bales 3S, 36 and 37 may be mounted within the casing 1 in the usual way for causing deflection of the air in' it-s passage therethrough.

Formal changes may be made in the specic embodiments of the invention described without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

' What is claimed is:

l 1. An air washing and cleaning apparatus Comprising a vertical casing having a lower portion defining a liquid reservoir and an upper portion delining an outlet for cleaned air and adapted to receive therein operating mechanism for moving air from said inlet through said casing and outwardly through said outlet, means forming an air inlet passageway communicating within said casing above said lower portion, a liquid-lifting impeller mounted within said casing and adapted to project wi'thin said reservoir, means mounting said impeller for rotation about a vertical axis, said last-named means comprising a drive shaft operatively connected to said impeller, spaced bearing assemblies rotatably mounting said shaft, and housing means open at opposite ends substantially enclosing -said shaft and bearing assemblies, said housing means terminating at one open end closely adjacent the top of said impeller, and means communicating the upper end of said housing means with the atmosphere and means operatively associated with said housing for moving `air downwardly therethrough.

2. An air washing and cleaning apparatus comprising a vertical casing having a lower portion dening a liquid reservoir and an upper portiondening an outlet for cleaned air and adapted to receive therein operating mechanism for moving air upwardly in said casing, means forming an air inlet passageway communicating within said casing above said lower portion, means creating a subatmospheric pressure within Said upper casing portion, a liquidlifting impeller mounted within said casing and adaptedI -to project within said reservoir, means mounting said impeller for rotation about a vertical axis, said last-named means comprising a drive shaft operatively connected to said impeller, spaced bearing assemblies rotatably mounting said shaft, and hou-sing means open at opposite ends substantially enclosing said shaft and bearing assemblies, said housing means terminating at one open end closely adjacent the top of said impeller, and means creating a pressure above said first-named pressure within' said housing means to thereby prevent ingress of moist air from within said casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,815,951 Mills July 28, 1931 1,894,864 Hall `Tan. 17, 1933 1,976,956 MacLean Oct. 16, 1934 2,054,272 Stouder Sept. 15, 1936 2,713,477 Daman July 19, 1955 

